At 1:15 a.m. it was done: in a memorable night session
Court Philippe-Chatrier, Rafael Nadal proved once again that the soon to be 36-year-old still feels at home on the red ashes of Paris. Thanks to a hard-fought 4-set win against permanent rival Novak Djokovic, Nadal is only two wins away from his 14th title in Roland Garros.
For a long time it had looked as if this game would go into a 5th set. Djokovic served in the 4th round when the score was 5: 3 to equalize the set, but missed both set balls. Nadal came back and won the game in the tie-break with the 4th match point. The Spaniard thus also successfully took revenge for the semi-final defeat a year ago.
Nadal submits – Djokovic follows suit
The 59th giant duel had kept what it had promised from the start. The first game of the game was a high-level attrition battle. After more than 10 minutes, Nadal decided this for himself and thus secured the break at the same time. Djokovic, who initially did not find his way into the game against the flawless Mallorcan, gave up his serve a second time and a little later the 1st set.
The 2nd set was initially a copy of the 1st set. Again Nadal managed the break in the first, overly long (13:23 minutes) game. When Paris Djokovic’s record winner took the service again and increased it to 3-0, the second set also seemed to be a one-sided affair. A little later, from Nadal’s point of view, it was suddenly 3: 4. Djokovic pulled his head out of the sling and deservedly equalized after an almost 90-minute set.
As a result, the balance of power with Djokovic seemed to have shifted. But Nadal didn’t give up. After briefly withdrawing to the catacombs after the set equalization, he advanced again with a 6:2. Then he played big again in the tie-break of the 4th set. Deep in the night he could breathe easy.